


Battle of Wills

by BigFatBumblebee



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Grumpy Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hurt Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hurt/Comfort, Kix and Cody have had enough of their General's bad habits, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a Mess, The 212th looks after their General
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 21:57:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20298583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigFatBumblebee/pseuds/BigFatBumblebee
Summary: Mid-way through the Clone Wars their beloved General is a bit of a mess. But Cody, Kix and the rest of the 212th are going to look after him, even if it kills them. Can snarkiness actually kill? Cody hopes not or they don’t stand a chance.





	Battle of Wills

**Author's Note:**

> I'm afraid I've taken a bit of artistic licence and re-deployed Kix to the 212th rather than the 501st, just because I really wanted him in this!

Obi-Wan Kenobi sighed deeply, absently rubbing his gloved hands together as he entered the mess hall aboard The Negotiator. It was late, very late, and only a smattering of men were occupying the room. They looked up in greeting as he passed, too tired to do anything but nod back as he headed passed the mostly empty seats to the dispensary, hoping for a strong cup of caff to keep him going though the night.

They had survived a recent spate of brutal battles in the mid rim, the past two weeks spent either engaged in savage fighting, or frantically regrouping and strategizing whilst they patched themselves up and moved on. It had been hard, and Obi-Wan could feel the tension in the air; whilst they had suffered minimal losses (no doubt thanks to his troops ability, dedication and courage) the constant fighting had taken its toll and morale was at an all time low. Everyone was exhausted and heart sore, nerves were on edge and supplies were worryingly low.

The tired Jedi Master sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair as he sat down with his caff and the latest supply requisition form. A long, firm, conversation with the rest of council meant the worst was over for now and they would not be sent in to battle for a little while, instead focussing on humanitarian and relief missions. Obi-Wan would ask Cody to make the announcement tomorrow morning, hopefully that would bring some relief for the men.

But for now, the night held the urgent business of keeping an army running. They had enough weapons, in light of their new mandate, but they were in dire need of almost everything else. Armour had been cracked in multiple explosions, bedding had been used as make shift tents, blacks had been ripped and torn, they were eating nothing but canned goods and caff, and bacta was in high demand. Stopping himself from rubbing his hands again he thought wistfully of a tube of bacta cream; at their last supply intake long weeks ago the soap aboard the ship had been changed and it appeared he had some kind of allergy to it. Under his gloves his hands were dry, itchy and sore.

He released his frustration in to the force almost absentmindedly and settled to his work. If he made a good start now he could be in bed in time for a couple of hours rest before morning.

\---

Commander Cody of the 212th attack battalion made his way through The Negotiator to the mess hall feeling better than he had in weeks. After a rather tense exchange with this General the previous evening, he had been banished to his bed and had managed a full eight hours sleep, before waking up to a message from said General outlining their next few missions. His heart had lifted, and he had excitedly posted it out to the rest of the battalion before he had even put his clothes on.

Though early, his brothers were starting their day around him and he smiled in response to the greetings from those he passed, the feeling of relief tangible and catching. Who knows, maybe he would even be in time for fresh caff?

He stopped in his tracks as he stood in the entrance to the mess hall, senses instantly alert. It was early, but the day had started and there were a fair few troopers settling down for breakfast. In absolute silence.

The mess was the heart of the ship, but at the moment the only sounds that could be heard were the soft clattering of cutlery and very low, hushed voices. It was incredibly disconcerting and spotting no obvious reason he narrowed his eyes in suspicion, instinctively scanning the room for precariously poised buckets of water, edible projectiles about to be fired or some other manner of prank or mischief. The 212th was never silent and it was deeply unnerving.

He opened his mouth to question when a nearby trooper waved at him, putting a finger to his lips and gesturing to the corner of the mess. Cody frowned in confusion, a little irritated. What was going on?

Looking at the furthest corner of the mess his feeling of irritation morphed in to a familiar one of exasperation when he saw the reason for the atmosphere in the mess. There, fast asleep with his head cradled in his arms on the table, was their General. Cody made a small frustrated noise and quietly made his way over, weaving around the tables.

The sleeping Jedi was surrounded by half empty mugs and stacks of data pads. He had taken off his gauntlets and gloves, neatly placed next to him on the table. Soft snores were escaping from beneath the ginger mop and Cody considered this must have been the first time in several days that his unstoppable General had slept. He shook his head, if he could see the Jedi’s face it would no doubt be too pale, slightly gaunt and shadowed. Cody looked around. He understood the need for their General to sleep, but a bed was definitely in order. He took a step backwards (just out of General Kenobi’s reach – Cody had no desire to get a punch in the face from a Jedi Master with PTSD) and cleared his throat loudly.

Nothing. Their General slept on. He looked around at the troops and nodded to them.

“Back to normal men” he instructed “General Kenobi here is going to need a proper bed” he said, louder than necessary in the hope he wouldn’t have to get closer to the battle-ready Jedi. He rolled his eyes when all he got was a snort.

“General” he said one more time, much louder now. There were snickers from behind him but it did the job. A grunt and then quick as a flash the man sat bolt upright and looked around, blue eyes wide and alert. Several of the nearby troops started and there was the sound of cutlery being dropped. Cody through he heard an “oof” as someone fell off their chair.

“Cody?” he squinted at the trooper questioningly.

“Morning General” Cody grunted back, disapproval heavy in his voice.

“Morning” the confused Jedi answered tiredly, ignoring his commander’s tone as usual, and rubbing his hands down his face and through his hair. Cody was overwhelmed by the urge to give him a big hug. Instead he tutted. Loudly. Obi-Wan looked at him, comprehension dawning as he looked around himself again and he coloured a little.

“Ah” he said sheepishly.

“Sir.” Cody confirmed with a single nod. “Breakfast?” he offered. His General smiled gratefully at him.

“Well, since we are here” he said, gesturing at the room with a smile and getting to his feet. “And in time for first sitting!” he said, with cheer in his voice. Cody resisted the urge to roll his eyes and followed the Jedi to the food dispensary, grabbing two plates. He fully intended to watch him eat a full breakfast and then escort the exhausted man to his quarters, forcibly if necessary.

They sat down again and began eating in companionable silence, life in the mess hall continuing around them at a comforting volume. Well, Cody ate whilst he watched General Kenobi taking small, distracted spoonful’s of porridge whilst staring at his data pad. He was about to say something when the redhead let out a satisfied hum and looked up suddenly with a nod, startling Cody.

“Good news?”

“Yes indeed, the Endeavour has just left Yavin IV with supplies for us, they’ll be here within the next couple of hours to unload. They have everything we need” the Jedi replied, handing the data pad over to Cody to look at the list.

Cody moved to take the pad, but stopped short and frowned when he noticed the state of the other man’s hand.

“General your hand!” he leaned across the table, irritated he hadn’t noticed before. The hand on the data pad looked painfully dry, with red patches of irritated skin and cracks that had bled ever so slightly. His General quickly put the data pad on the table, looking away and hurriedly began putting his gloves back on. Cody noticed the other hand was in a similar state.

“Ah, yes. Unfortunately, I’m afraid the soap we’re using aboard ship doesn’t agree with me. Not to worry though I was sure to ask for a replacement from Yavin IV and Colonel Hood will be along with it shortly.” He explained succinctly, picking up the pad again and handing the list of incoming supplies to Cody. Who took it with a sigh.

“You should have put something on them General” he said, slightly cross. Predictably, his C.O rolled his eyes.

“I am not an idiot Cody” ginger eyebrows rose at the flat look he gained from his Commander “but I rather think we need to save the limited bacta we have for more important things”

Cody bit back a less than professional reply. _Classic Kenobi_ he thought irritably. He had learned long ago that whilst selflessness was a common Jedi trait, his General gave the word new meaning.

“Now, look at the supply list and let me know if there are any omissions, I will run it past the heads of departments” the Jedi instructed briskly, getting to his feet.

“Yes sir.” Cody let the matter drop. “Sir if you would like to get some rest I can do that” he offered, desperately clinging to his plan.

“Cody I literally just woke up. We only have a couple of hours until the Endeavour gets here and we’ll need to be ready to take on all the supplies. We won’t have long before they need to be on their way.” And with that the General stacked his plate of half eaten breakfast on the side and strode out of the mess.

_Well, _Cody thought, _time for a plan B_. He took out his communicator.

“Kix are you available later on today?”

\---

Unbelievably, taking on supplies seemed to Cody to actually be more difficult than some of the battles he’d been involved in. Ferrying vast amounts of just about everything from one ship to the other was a massive undertaking, every team and department frantically re-checking multiple lists, shouts from all directions in the main hanger and shinnies getting under foot. It had all the potential in the Galaxy to descend in to pandemonium. One missed crate, misplaced data pad and they could be without something crucial for weeks. One argument or heated ‘debate’ and the squabbling would begin and order would be lost. Everyone was tired and tempers were always just below the surface.

However Cody needn’t have worried; under the intelligent, methodical and calm supervision of (in the 212th ‘s humble opinion) the best General in the GAR none of Cody’s fears came to pass. The whole enterprise ran smoothly; Kenobi seemed to be in all places at once; carrying with the force, offering sensible solutions to problems, picking up any slack and generally being a stabling influence.

Sitting on one of the empty crates as he watched The Endeavour depart, reflecting on a job well done, Cody privately thought that simply being in the presence of someone they respected kept most of the troops in line, and Kenobi’s natural leadership ability did the rest.

Speaking of their somewhat awe-inspiring Jedi, Cody had some unfinished business.

Right on cue the rarely used ship wide PA system sparked in to life, and he smiled when he heard, what he assumed was, Kix’s voice.

“General Kenobi report to medical, General Kenobi to medical.”

There was every probability that General Kenobi would simply ignore the request, he usually did when summoned to medical. Certainly, he never actively disagreed or created conflict, but would smile politely and nod his head and then disappear for a few hours. Only to reappear when he was next needed for a briefing or meeting, and it was too late.

This time though, unlike after a battle when they were all licking their wounds and a Jedi could slip away, every Clone would be on the lookout. And with a ship full of busy troopers there was nowhere to hide. Cody continued smiling as he hopped off his perch and made his own way to Kix’s kingdom, keeping his eyes out for beige and copper figures hiding in corners looking busy.

\---

“General Kenobi report to medical, General Kenobi to medical”

In the bowls of the Negotiator, in the Quartermasters Stores, Obi-Wan cringed mid-stack. Nearby troopers froze when the scratchy announcement came through and turned to him accusingly as one. He held up his gloved hands in defence.

“I’m not ill I swear” he said quickly, taking in the looks of suspicion aimed his way.

“You sure General?” the nearest trooper questioned. Obi-Wan recognised him as Tag, a fairly well- experienced Captain.

“Yes Captain, I’m quite sure” he answered in a clipped voice, pushing his irritation in to the force. He was right in the middle of things. “I have no idea why I’m being summoned” he said truthfully. Yes, it had been a while since his last check up, and Cody had seen his hands this morning, but neither of those things warranted a personal trip to the medical bay. He rubbed said sore hands absently, hoping it wasn’t to do with the supply shipment.

“All the same, better get you to Kix Sir” another clone chimed in, rather sternly Obi-Wan thought, mildly surprised. He would have to work on his ‘intimidating-Jedi-General’ persona.

He looked at the troops surrounding him, there really was nowhere to run. He sighed inwardly, a good strategist knows when to retreat, and it might be something that actually did need his attention.

“Yes of course, I will present myself to the commander at once. Apologies gentlemen you will have to carry on without me” He gestured to the remaining crates to be unpacked and started for the door. He watched the two troopers who had spoken exchange a glance over his head (curse their blasted height) and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _Tag and..what was it? Pepper? Tally? _He realised, with no small amount of guilt, that he couldn’t remember.

“We’ll come with you General”

“Yeah Sir we’re heading in that direction with the empty crates for the hanger” they both downed tools and made to flank him as he neared the door, picking up a couple of empty boxes.

“That is really not necessary I can assure you, however your company is always appreciated” Obi-Wan said smoothly. No sense in making things harder and it would give the troops a break. Both Clones grinned at him.

The three of them made their way through the busy corridors, to Obi-Wan’s chagrin most of the troops they passed double checked with the two brothers that they were indeed ‘headed to medical with the General’.

He resisted the urge to glower and felt his mood worsening, as it often did, the closer they got to the medical bay. He was exhausted, irritated, a headache was building behind his eyes and his hands were actually getting rather painful. He had planned to grab a tube of cream as they were unloading the supplies from the Endeavour but he just hadn’t found the time. Now he was being dragged in front of Kix for force only knows what reason and his troops were being insufferable. Why couldn’t everybody just leave him alone? He could have been finished unloading by now!

He breathed in deeply through his nose and tried to get a little perspective. It wasn’t their fault they were concerned, even he was able to admit he didn’t have the best track record of actually making it to the medical bay, and it wasn’t their fault he was basically running on empty. He should have eaten more at breakfast, he reflected, but there simply wasn’t _time_ for that sort of thing.

He managed genial smiles for those they passed, reassuring them that he was in fact going to be paying a visit to Kix, and how was the unloading going? He received tired smiles in return and in no time at all they were outside the medic’s domain. He sighed and palmed the door control.

\---

Kix was busy unpacking boxes of medical supplies in the medical bay, keeping a one eye on his team carefully piling things in to the cupboards, cabinets and carts around the edges of the room. Otherwise his gaze was occupied by Cody, sitting on an unoccupied bio-bed, staring at the door.

“You could help you know” Kix looked at him archly from his precarious position balanced on top of a stool stacking a high cupboard. “General Kenobi will be along soon I’m sure, the _Vode _won’t let him escape for long. I’ve got the bacta cream handy, an IV bag mixed and he can have a nice long nap when he’s settled. He’ll be fine Codes. We’ll look after him.” Kix reassured his somewhat fretful friend.

Cody nodded slowly, getting to his feet to help his brother when the door to the med bay opened to reveal their General, Tag and Tally hovering just behind him. Cody smiled and met Kix’s eyes as he got down from his stool.

“Good afternoon General, thank you for coming” Kix greeted cheerfully, running an appraising eye over their General. His whole body seemed slumped in exhaustion, he was far too pale with bags under his eyes. Kix was sure he saw a tiny squint as he encountered the bright lights of the medical bay. _Headache then_ he thought unhappily. Taking a tip from Cody he glanced down at the Jedi’s hands but his gloves were still on.

“Hello Kix, Cody” their C.O nodded at them both. “What can I do for you?” he asked, a picture of mild polite interest. Kix resisted the urge to smirk. _Nice try General._

“Tag, Tally, you’re dismissed. Thank you” Cody addressed the other troopers and walked towards General Kenobi, still hovering in the doorway.

“General come in please. Sit on the bed and take off your gloves, boots and belt” Kix instructed briskly, leaving no room for argument. After much trial and error, he had found a good way of ensuring their flighty Jedi remained where they wanted him was to confiscate his boots. He gestured to the bed at the end of the ward, furthest from the door. 

The General did not move.

“Kix-“

“Now please General” the medic interrupted loudly, folding his arms and staring the Jedi down. Kenobi turned the full force of his stubborn glare on Kix, is mouth a determined line and his eyes bright and narrowed. A muscle in his jaw twitched.

Had the medic been a lesser man he wold surely have broken, but he simply answered the intimidating look with a slight raise of his eyebrows. He was well used to obstinate patients, particularly this one. Cody broke the spell by moving to stand next to Kix, mirroring his pose.

“You’re outnumbered I’m afraid Sir” Kix said matter-of-factly. The cornered man’s face darkened when he reached the same conclusion, and he finally began to move towards the freshly made up bed at the end of the ward with a scowl.

“Very well” He ground out. ”I don’t know what I’m doing here though, I’m _fine_” he grumbled. Cody and Kix exchanged a worried look. Their Jedi was uncharacteristically grumpy. Even at his most uncomfortable, General Kenobi always maintained an air of good-humour and optimism. His patience and ability to put up with almost anything was legendary. _Still,_ Kix thought rather sadly, _everybody has their breaking point. _

The exhausted man perched on the high bed (Kix always made sure he was eye level with his patients when they were being examined) on top of the clean crisp white sheets and looked around disdainfully.

“Well General I’d like to look at your hands, if I may?” Kix requested, softening his tone now that they had the Jedi where they wanted him. “And then I want to check your blood pressure, take a blood sample and get you re-hydrated. It shouldn’t take too long.” He explained, helping the pale man take off his boots to reveal bright red socks with loth-cats all over them. Kix raised his eyebrows in bemusement at the Jedi Master, who went a bit pink and shrugged.

“They’re warm” he said defensively. Cody snorted. Kix grabbed his penlight and shined it in his patient’s eyes. He winced.

“Ow Kix really? This is so unnecessary I assure you. Surely you have better things to do?” Crystal blue eyes looked at him imploringly. “Honestly I’m fine I just need to have a bit of a rest” The General wasn’t quite ready to give up yet it seemed, and Kix thought he detected a small amount of petulance creeping in to the Jedi Master’s tone and smothered a smile, catching Cody doing the same. They both ignored him.

“Off with the gloves General” Kix requested and Kenobi gave him one final scowl before slowly and gingerly removing his black gloves, revealing his sore hands beneath. Kix’s professionalism was the only thing that stopped him letting out a low whistle at the state of Kenobi’s hands. They were inflamed and red, hot to the touch with patches of irritated dry skin that had split and cracked. Cody had no such qualms and swore softly. Kix gave him a sharp look. For his part their General remained silent whilst Kix turned his hands over and took a closer look, letting out a thoughtful hum.

“And they’ve been like this for how long General?” he asked, keeping his tone even.

“A few weeks I think before I started to notice, but only recently they’ve got worse”. Kix resisted the strong urge to smack his stubborn Jedi upside the head. This was at least two months in the making.

“Yes it looks like you’ve had a reaction of some kind, and now you’ve got an infection” he said sighing. “You should have come to me with this immediately General you can’t just ignore these things!” he scolded, fully aware he was sliding into what the troops dubbed his ‘Mama Bantha’ mode and not caring. Kenobi let out a long breath and nodded.

“Yes” he sighed “I know. I just…” He shrugged “couldn’t find the time” he finished, emotive blue eyes looking down miserably. Kix sighed and straightened up.

“It’s important that you make the time General, you need to take your own health and wellbeing as seriously as you take ours” He said firmly. They had had this conversation many times before, but Kix remained optimistic that one day the message would get into his General’s thick skull. Kenobi said nothing.

The medic turned away and signaled to a lieutenant at the back of the med bay, drawing him away from more unpacking.

“Private, bandages.” He paused “and some tea for the General” he instructed, turning back to his patient to receive a grateful nod.

“Excuse me” he said, pushing up the sleeve of the General’s robe to get access to his upper arm, quickly grabbing a nearby syringe and drawing blood to a small grunt from his patient. No doubt it would reveal low iron levels and poor glucose, calcium, and electrolyte levels, but at least confirmation would be handy in convincing their Jedi to take better care of himself. Said Jedi bristled but remained silent whilst Kix proceeded to wrap a blood pressure cuff around this arm, gradually losing his fight.

He perked up, however, when Private Pole appeared a moment later. He put some bandages on the side table and shyly handed a mug of tea over to the General.

“Oh wonderful, thank you” he took the tea in his sore hands and flashed a dazzling smile at young Pole. Who promptly turned pink under the full force of his striking General’s attention. Kix rolled his eyes.

“That’ll be all, thank you Pole” he muttered. “Your blood pressure’s low General” he said reproachfully. About to say more he stopped when the man, still perched on the bed with ridiculously stockinged feet dangling slightly off floor, took a sip of the tea and grimaced.

“Belgh! What in sithhells is this?” He demanded in disgust looking at the tea accusingly. Cody and Kix looked at each other again. It was probably another sign of their C.O’s mood. Few things could make the mild-mannered and gentle Jedi curse, but force knows the man took his tea seriously. Kix braced himself.

“It’s tea Sir” Kix answered tartly.

“_That_ is not tea”

“It’s herbal tea. It’s good for you. You drink too much caffeine” Kix argued. “Now drink it up” he instructed and was surprised when all he received was another glare and an eyeroll. Sure enough his stubborn patient did as he was told and drained the rest of the tea, grimacing.

Kix grabbed the empty mug and put it on the side table, squirting some of the bacta cream in to his palm he took one of the Jedi’s hands and gently started massaging it in. His skittish patient started a little and moved to interfere. 

“I am perfectly capable of putting some cream on myself Kix, I’m not an invalid” he snapped. Kix batted his other hand away.

“With all due respect General, please shut up and let me work” he replied smartly. Kenobi started in surprise at his directness but did indeed sit quietly and let Kix start working on his other hand. The medic thought he felt the man finally relax somewhat.

They sat in silence whilst the medic worked and, satisfied he had applied the right amount of cream, he reached for the bandages.

“General I need to wrap these up whilst the cream does it’s work. The bandages are bacta soaked and should speed up healing. Though it’s going to take a few hours ” Kix explained. All he got in response was a silent nod of understanding, the Jedi’s shoulders beginning to hunch and the fierce façade of the warrior General finally fading to reveal more exhaustion and defeat. It was troubling to see and made Kix all the more determined to look after him.

He began bandaging one hand and made eye contact with Cody. Their Jedi would be here a while, it would be ideal if the tightly wound man could rest easy. Cody nodded and came to stand in front of his General.

“I’ve received updates from all department heads after the supply restock Sir. Everything accounted for so far” Cody stated succinctly. Kenobi nodded thoughtfully, distracted from Kix’s attentions. 

“What about the galley? Whisk mentioned there was less than he was hoping for”

“No Sir, all items correct and everything in the correct quantities. Captain Whisk may have set his expectations a little high”. Kenobi smirked

“I’ll speak to him and see if I can quell his disappointment.” he promised “perhaps we can find a recipe for several thousand tins of beans. What about the empty crates, Tally said they’re going in the hanger?”

“Yes Sir, we’re on track to have them all in the hanger to be recycled at twenty-three hundred.” Kenobi nodded thoughtfully again.

“Cody would you please make a note of any men who had to take on an extra shift to get everything done? I’ll see if I can re-draft the rota to make sure they get time off in lieu” Cody nodded.

“Of course Sir”. The General nodded again, and then looked down in surprise as Kix moved on to his other hand.

“Kix! Isn’t this a bit much?” he said waving his heavily bandaged hand. The slightly green bandages were wrapped all the way from wrist to fingernails in may secure layers, rendering the appendage all but useless. “How am I supposed to do anything?” he asked frustratedly, trying to withdraw his other hand from Kix’s grip.

“You’re not supposed to _do_ anything General” Kix bit back, starting to lose his patience. “As Cody says the supplies are all on board fine and departments are dealing with things, nothing for you to do there. We’re hyperspace bound for the next two days and you need to take a break” Kenobi opened his mouth to argue but Kix cut him off “it will only be for a few hours whilst the bacta works and I can get you re-hydrated.” He paused but couldn’t resist. “For the record General, we wouldn’t be in this position if you had come to me sooner. And looked after yourself properly” he scolded with a huff.

Cody took that moment to intervene again as Kenobi opened his mouth to argue. He wouldn’t put it past Kix to start yelling if their General pushed him much further and nobody needed that.

He wished General Skywalker was here, he was usually able to get his Master to do as he was told. And to get him to wind-down. Cody wasn’t stupid, he had observed over their time together that his Jedi hid an incredible amount of anxiety and had a need for control that was probably a direct result of being responsible for so many lives in such a stressful situation.

“I can hang on to your comm for the time being Sir, whilst you’re out of commission, and I promise I will pass on any truly urgent messages” He reassured the distressed Jedi. Kenobi raised his free arm as if to run his hand through his hair, but aborted the motion and looked at his bandaged hand in irritation.

“I…fine” he said, letting out a big sigh “it’s not like I can use it anyway” he said, this time with a small smile, waving his useless hand at his Commander. Cody smiled back, relieved, and Kix nodded at him.

“There General, all done” he said, securing the bandage on his patient’s other hand, pleased with his work. Kenobi looked at both his bandaged hands, intensely unimpressed.

“Brilliant” he said flatly. Kix ignored him again and reached for two large pillows from under the bed.

“Lie back please.” He gestured to the bed, passing the pillows to Cody who placed them at the head of the bed so their Jedi would be comfortably propped up, whilst Kix helped him shuffle awkwardly into a lying position lifting his legs on to the bed.

“Comfortable?” Kix asked cheerfully

“No” came the sulky response. 

“Good.”

Cody smiled at their exchange and patted his supine friend on the leg.

“Sir I’ll leave you in Kix’s capable hands” His fearsome General shot him a pleading look. He smirked “I’ll start putting together that list. You’ll have it by the time you are back on your feet” he promised.

Kenobi gave him a dubious look. No doubt questioning how soon that would be. Cody simply smiled and turned to leave, and Kix approached holding an IV bag, preparing himself for another argument.

“Right General please hold still I’m going to put this in at your elbow”

“Kix if this is a sedative I shall be exceedingly displeased” the Jedi Master and High General levelled his stare at the medic, currently rolling up the sleeve on his left arm and wiping the inside of his elbow.

“No of course not Sir, I wouldn’t dream of it.” Kix said with a sickly sweet smile. Kenobi rolled his eyes. “Just standard saline solution and some painkillers for your headache”. His patient had the grace to colour a little at that, no doubt believing he had hidden it better. “But you may as well take a nap Sir you’re going to be here for at least a few hours, depending on when I see fit to release you. You won’t be doing anything and I’m turning out the lights” the medic finished tartly.

“Oh for –“ the Jedi started frustratedly, but stopped as Cody opened the door to exit. “Cody” he called.

“Sir?” Cody turned to see his General’s shrewd measuring gaze. The man looked awfully small on the bed against the crisp white sheets, the bulky form of Kix leaning over him fiddling with the cannula at his elbow. Still far to pale and creased with exhaustion, Cody hoped a nice long nap would at least take care of the bruises under his eyes.

“Please convey my thanks to the men for their efforts today, and make sure you get some rest as well.” The Jedi said, still somehow managing to convey all the gravitas of his mastery and rank whilst being fussed over, lying horizontal in his loth-cat socks.

“Yes Sir, sleep well General.” Cody nodded as he left.

There was a moment of silence whilst Kix checked over his work and grabbed his pen light again, before Kenobi rounded on him.

“Is there any way we could speed things up Commander? Perhaps leave the full examination until next time?”

“Of course, open wide Sir” Kix ignored him and brandished a tongue depressor, shoving it in his patients mouth when he opened it to argue.

“Kaaa!” Kenobi glared at him. Kix hummed and shined his light.

“Do you have a sore throat General?” he questioned withdrawing. The other man shrugged.

“Not especially” he said. Kix narrowed his eyes.

“Your tonsils are slightly swollen, but it could simply be a sign of being run down I suppose” he tutted. “We’ll soon fix that”. Kenobi rolled his eyes again and Kix moved behind him.

“Lean forward” he instructed, removing one of the pillows pilled up behind the Jedi, and helping him to lie down fully on the bed. He let out a small groan as he did so, lying for the first time in days. Kix made a mental note to recommend physical therapy for his back at some point. His Jedi slept at a right angle more often than not.

“Are you going to tuck me in as well?” he said sarcastically as Kix helped him lie down without the use of his hands. The medic smirked and produced a thick blanket from under the bed.

“Really?” Kenobi snorted disbelievingly.

“Yes Sir, it’s time for your nap” Kix replied teasingly “and then when you’re hands have healed you’ll be having some food” he finished firmly, proceeding to cover his patient up to his neck with the warm blanket as he rolled on to his side.

“Kix…” the Jedi Master started and then paused, uncharacteristically unsure “you will wake me if anything happens? Anything at all?” he clarified. Kix closed his eyes.

“Of course General, anything at all” Kix promised. He drew back and patted his patient reassuringly on the leg before moving away.

“Sleep well Sir, we’ve got you.” he said quietly, turning out the lights.

“Thank you Kix” came the soft response in the dark.

After setting up various monitors, he paused before he palmed open the door. Already he could hear his Jedi’s deep even breaths and tiny snores punctuating the silence of the bed bay. He had all but passed out.

Kix smiled to himself. He was under no illusions that he, or anybody, could keep their General down for long, but any kind of respite he could give would be worth all the bickering, sarcasm and arguing in the galaxy.


End file.
